


Alec, the designer

by GhostwithShotgun



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, alec being surprisingly into design, and alec wants to help, magnus gets that itch to redecorate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 16:55:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15175184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostwithShotgun/pseuds/GhostwithShotgun
Summary: The one where Magnus feels the need to redecorate the loft, and is surprised by Alec wanting to help and actually being pretty into it. Just a fun scene that we'll never get on the show.





	Alec, the designer

Magnus sighed as he sat down in his favorite armchair with a magazine in his hands. He had just sent the last client for today off, and now he was just waiting for Alec to return home so they could have dinner. He was starting to get tired of the way the loft looked, and he figured he might look for some inspiration while he was waiting, because he could never know for sure when Alec would be coming home, it's not like the institute had set working hours. He started flipping through the pages, wanting to see if anything caught his eyes.

************

An hour later he heard the front door open and close. He called out to Alec, but made no effort of going over to kiss him in greeting. He could hear Alec humming in response, followed by the familiar sound of weapons being put down on the floor. Magnus looked up, just in time to see Alec making his way over to him. Alec walked around to the back of the armchair, and kissed the top of Magnus' head before crouching slightly to let his head rest on Magnus' shoulder.

"What're you up to?" Alec asked, his slightly slurred words being an indicator of how tired he was.

"Nothing much, just looking for inspiration on how I can redecorate this place. What do you want for dinner?" Magnus asked, not really feeling the need to start a conversation with Alec on interior design. He probably wasn't very interested anyways. Alec stood up and started making his way over to the kitchen while talking.

"I'm thinking italian, Izzy mentioned pasta earlier today and now I really want pasta." At this point, Magnus got up and followed Alec, because the man kept talking.

"Do you have anything in particular in mind for the loft? And do you need help? Because I don't have to go back to the institute tomorrow, and I know you usually want to do things right away." When he finished talking Alec finally turned to face Magnus, rubbing his neck with a slightly sheepish look on his face. As if he was unsure if Magnus would even want his help. Magnus had to physically stop himself from rolling his eyes.

"I don't know quite what I'm gonna do. And you're more than welcome to help out, but I'm sure you've got other things you'd rather be doing on your day off." Magnus replied with a smile, and kissed Alec briefly. Alec's hands went down to his hips when the broke apart, a tiny smile on his face.

"Actually, I think it'd be fun. I don't do it very often, as I'm sure you've noticed." Alec said, very clearly hinting at his very... bland bedroom back at the institute. Magnus had certainly noticed, which was why he didn't think Alec would be interested in the slightest. But, any time Magnus got to spend with his wonderful boyfriend was appreciated.

"Then you and I will work on that tomorrow. For now, you said you wanted italian?" Magnus made sure to make it sound like a question, and when Alec nodded he snapped his fingers to conjure up dinner for them.

************

Magnus woke up only to find Alec's side of the bed empty. It wasn't completely cold though, so apparently he hadn't gotten up too long ago. Still, Magnus wished he would have woken him up, because they had a long day ahead of them, especially since Alec would insist that they do everything the mundane way. Despite that, Magnus decided to just stay in bed for a couple more minutes before getting up.   
When he heard a crash two minutes later he figured his time was up, and went to see what is boyfriend was up to. He found Alec on the living room floor, frantically trying to put things back on the coffee table. He looked up when he heard Magnus approaching.

"Did I wake you up? I'm so sorry. I was just walking around and looking at your furniture and stuff, and I kinda walked into the table..." Alec tried to explain, and Magnus only chuckled before snapping his fingers to put everything back on the table. He walked over to his boyfriend, who was still on the floor, and extended a hand to help him up. He gave Alec a kiss on the cheek before smiling at him.

"No harm done, my dearest Alexander. I was already awake." he reassured and Alec smiled back at him. They made their way to the kitchen in a comfortable silence, where they ate their breakfast. Once done, they went silent again. Alec suddenly looked a bit nervous. Magnus knew Alec couldn't have done a lot of furnishing and decorating in his life, but could this actually be the first time he did it properly, and not just adding furniture when he needs it?

"How do you usually... do this?" Alec asked, vaguely motioning to the space around them. So it was the first time he was doing something like this.

"I usually just look at pictures of rooms or furniture, and try to recreate it magically, but I guess you want us to do it in a more mundane way?" Magnus asked, because he really didn't want to just boss Alec around. Alec lived there as much as Magnus did, even if he hadn't officially moved in yet, and if Alec wanted to help then Magnus would make sure to respect his wishes. But Alec just shrugged.

"I mean... it's fine if you get everything here by magic, as long as you pay for it." Alec said, his voice turning a bit stern at the end of the sentence, before continuing. "And I kinda want us to do the furnishing ourselves. Like, physically. It just seems like that is the most fun part?" he finished, and looked very unsure of himself, like he thought Magnus would say that that is an awful idea. Magnus sighed inwardly, because Alec was so innocent and insecure in a way that was both heartbreaking and endearing. Magnus settled on giving him a soft smile.

"Then we have a plan. What do you say we look around and decide what we want to do? Because I want both of us to be a part of this, since you wanted to help out, and this is as much your home as it is mine. You have as much of a say in this as I do, okay?" Magnus asked. He wanted to be sure Alec knew his opinion was valid. Maybe he was making this into a bigger deal than necessary, but Magnus frankly didn't care. And it was no secret he could be very dramatic anyways. Alec just gave him a half smile and a nod, and Magnus smiled back before going to grab some magazines.

************

Two hours later Magnus found that he had been surprised by Alec more times than he could count. Alec had shown him a side of him that Magnus was sure he wasn't even aware of himself; a side that was very interested in design. It had been established within ten minutes of looking at pictures that Alec loved the industrial style, which Magnus didn't find surprising whatsoever. It wasn't a surprise that Alec preferred a monochrome color scheme either. What was a surprise though, was just how... passionate, in lack of better words, Alec was about it. While Magnus was also a fan of the industrial interior design, his tastes were a lot more colorful, and Alec did protest every now and then when he thought something was too brightly colored. Magnus hadn't expected it, but he definitely enjoyed it. It was a fun challenge to find pieces that they both liked, and having to compromise every so often. Magnus had been especially surprised (in a good way, mind you) when Alec expressed how the loft could do with lighter furniture and details since the walls, floors, and ceilings were all so dark. At that moment Magnus had felt a strange mix of emotions he couldn't quite describe. He felt love, joy, and pride along with other emotions.   
Everyone and their grandmother knew that Alexander Lightwood was a very passionate person. But Magnus felt no small amount of joy to witness his Alexander being passionate about something so simple and innocent as interior design. It was new, and it was certainly good.

"I think we're done." he finally declared, after taking a final look at the large amount of items spread throughout his living room. He had sent off all of the old furniture he didn't want to keep, so the loft was as much of a blank canvas as a home of someone who's had centuries to collect things could be. Alec nodded and made his way over to the room, and then stopped in his tracks and turned to face Magnus.

"All of your old stuff, where'd...?" he began, but Magnus knew what he was about to ask and didn't let him finish.

"It's all gone to different charities. Someone else can use it even if I don't want it anymore." he said, and Alec gave him a fond smile.

"Alright then. Let's get to work." Alec said, and Magnus didn't miss the excitement in his voice. He followed his boyfriend into the living room, where Alec had already begun moving everything to the right rooms. Magnus contemplated letting Alec do all the heavy lifting, but decided that that would be incredibly unfair (especially considering Magnus was fully capable of doing it himself) and went to move an armchair to the bedroom. 

************

They worked together on moving the furniture for about half an hour before moving on to actually placing everything. They had come to some kind unspoken agreement that Alec would place all the furniture in the right place, while Magnus took care of the more decorative items. And Magnus had absolutely no problem with that. Decorating was his favorite part anyways. And he did enjoy placing blankets and lamps while watching Alec obsess over symmetry. It brought him a certain kind of domestic happiness. 

Hours later Magnus placed a plant in a corner of the living room, and looked at the finished product. The loft was certainly more toned down (and lighter, as per Alec's request) than before, but with quite a few pops of color. It did look very industrial, but still cozy and homey because of all of the softer details, like rugs and cushions, they had added. The lighting was also very warm, because most of them were just the bare kind of light bulbs, with no screen or anything, because Alec "found the patterns interesting", and Magnus didn't care enough about lamps to protest. All in all, the loft now looked like a combination of both of them. And Magnus absolutely loved it. 

He was brought out of his thoughts by a pair of arms wrapping around his waist. He turned around to face Alec with a smile.

"Like it?" Alec asked, and Magnus kissed him before replying.

"Love it. Thank you, Alexander." Magnus said, and Alec looked slightly confused.

"What for?" he asked, and Magnus shrugged with a smile he just knew made him look like a lovesick fool. Which he was, but that's beside the point.

"Don't know. Just thank you." he answered and kissed Alec again, this time with more passion. Alec got the hint and started pushing Magnus backwards into the bedroom. They had to put the new bed to the test, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure if this absolutely sucked or not, but I just really wanted to write it, so I did. I hope it was enjoyable to some extent though xx


End file.
